Focus - Leo Babauta [48]
My decision to take a Digital Sabbatical came when I was on a bus ride, mindlessly flipping between applications on my phone. Killing time between stops, it occurred to me I was justifying the hours I spent with my device, and online, as "part of the job." I told myself if I wasn't always on I might miss something. That moment, I knew it was time for a hard reset. I wanted a better intention online than, "I don't want to miss something." It was time for a Digital Sabbatical.
What's a Digital Sabbatical? It means to engage with the Web less frequently, and with intention when you are online. To prepare for a Digital Sabbatical, begin with elimination:
Eliminate insecurity work. Turn off alerts. Stop running searches every few hours on your projects to see who mentioned you.
Eliminate non-client related meetings.
Eliminate responsiveness; instead practice being reflective.
Remove non-essential apps from your phone.
Engage in Noble Silence once a day (eliminate noise/conversation).
You will miss things. Unplugged or not, you're missing something. Unplugging gives you perspective to decide what you don't want to miss. Focus, by definition, means you choose one thing over another. You give your attention completely to the task at hand, not worrying that you're missing something.
When you're ready to commit to focus as a lifestyle change, here's how to take a Digital Sabbatical.
Auto-respond / post. Set your blog to post every Monday while you're away. Auto-respond to emails with a message explaining how you can be reached (in my case, I offered my physical address and hand-wrote letters in response to the ones I received).
Create Community of one. Practice being alone. If you're out of practice, watch How to Be Alone.
Create Down Time. Build down time into your schedule. Put it on the calendar. Don't budge in your commitment to read a book start to finish. (ReadMore can keep you focused while reading.)
Elicit Support. Eliciting support means asking for help well in advance of falling out of the saddle. A best friend, a family member. Both. Ask for the help to stay off the Web during your sabbatical. (Although they may offer to join you, it's best they don't unplug at the same time.)
Forgo Feedback. Don't expect everyone in your life to be thrilled with your unplugging. Don't expect feedback unless you ask for it directly. Touch base with yourself by sitting. (See "Sit" below.)
Log It. For someone addicted to the Web, suddenly dropping off can feel lonesome. Keep a log (whether of a full week of 168 hours or just the first day or two) and allow calm to replace panic.
Search Limit. Limit the number of searches you do each day. Go deeper than first page of search results when you do search. Consider giving up search altogether for a week or month asking an expert on the topic instead of consulting a search engine.
Set the Container. What's absolutely off limits? Name it. Write it down. Put this container in front of yourself, near your devices.
Sit. I'm a minimalist. Still, there's one purchase I suggest you make before embarking on your sabbatical: a zafu. Sit daily, even if just for ten minutes.
Take stock of your digital life. Which sites do you use to kill time? Is life long enough to spend it killing your time? Which applications are you using as a crutch? Which sites cause you pain to think about updating when you get back online?
To create spaces of focus and productivity in the (digital) world, we have to first be tender and intimate with ourselves. We have to cultivate spaces of retreat within ourselves, and extend from there. We have to observe our addictions with a tender heart. We have to cultivate awareness by sitting and observing ourselves. We have to consider the ripples we're sending into the world with our words and deeds.
Cultivate space for yourself in the world. Practice mindfulness. Retreat. Study yourself. Not just for yourself, for your community. For the people you serve. Unplugging gives you an opportunity to miss the work you do. Missing is good, it creates